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Letter to the Editor: Affordable means of college education available

May 18, 2010

A recent QC Sun headline read, “ENMU raises tuition.” It could have read, “ENMU has third lowest tuition of 79 Southwest universities.”

It all depends whether we see the glass as half empty or half full, doesn’t it?

For-profit universities such as the University of Phoenix, Kaplan, and Franklin University seem to range from $300 to $450 per credit hour. ENMU’s cost per credit hour is $174. Eastern is fully-accredited, as are the for-profits schools. Through our taxes, we are already supporting Eastern and Mesalands Community College. Why would anyone choose to pay twice?

ENMU and other New Mexico-funded universities offer many online degrees. Here’s a good-sense way area residents can approach their education:

Decide which university you will graduate from and take every required class that’s available through Mesalands Community College. There will be no problem with the transfer of credits. Mesalands has a well-educated faculty, and low tuition of about $40 per credit. Then transfer to Eastern or take online classes to earn a bachelor’s degree in areas such as business, IT, accounting, etc.

Upon completion of the bachelor’s degree, you can even earn an online master’s degree in business administration through Eastern. Just think of the good things you will be able to do for Tucumcari if you come back here to live and work and share what you learned with others.

Those who make an educational investment in themselves now are the future leaders of our great community.